Fall is in the Air

NOOOOOO!

Just kidding. I actually really like fall -- I just prefer having the heat of summer so I can run around wearing shorts and no shoes. I do not like being cold!

I was reading some other blogs where they mentioned the fact that certain seasons put them in the mood for certain kinds of reads. The most recent was a post regarding fall/halloween and the desire to read creepy stuff.

I'm always in the mood for creepy stuff! Not kidding. I love a good horror read any time of the year. But I found myself making the same fall connection yesterday when I pulled my copy of Douglas Clegg's fantabulously creepy novella Isis out of the TBR stack. I read it last evening and now all I want is more horror! Horror movies, horror books, even creepy dark music (is it just me or is Placebo like the perfect trailer music -- nope not just me, it's being used as much as the various incarnations of Clint Mansell's "Lux Aeterna" from Requiem for a Dream), and video games (I'm dying to buy Fear 2, that's how long it hasn't been in the budget!).

I've got some classics waiting for me on my reading shelf and I am seriously considering a couple of days "off" to read some James Herbert, Dan Simmons, and Peter Straub before the new Stephen King hits shelves in November.

Agh! I've got Sarah Pinborough in my TBR stack and the new Sarah Langan on the list to buy as well, and I did some online shopping this week so I've got Rhodi Hawk's debut A Twisted Ladder now, too.

The movie front is a bit drier. Jennifer's Body looks amusing (Daiblo Cody's horror movie) and I'm really hoping that Pandorum and Daybreakers live up to my expectations, (Jennifer's Body and Pandorum are both due out this month, but Daybreakers is not set for release until next year). Then there's Legion, due out in January. Hmm, fallen angels seem to be hot right now -- there must be some horror reads in this vein, anyone know of any? I'm seriously hoping none of these suck. I don't know. I'm totally leery about horror movies right now after some pretty horrific remakes and releases lately.

What can I say? Apparently I have higher expectations than the production companies expect horror fans to have. And I'm not alone. There's been a lot of talk about the state of the genre of late. There's tons coming out but not much of quality. And much of what we're seeing these days are remakes of not-so-old films to begin with.

Is it so wrong to want to be totally blown away by something new? I don't think so, but what's with this fear of making anything worthwhile and new in movies these days? I can think of some worthy remakes, but Friday the 13th is definitely not one of them. What the heck is wrong with the original anyway? Not a damn thing.

On a positive note, I've been in the mood to rewatch An American Werewolf in London after watching season one of Being Human and just learned that it's being rereleased this week on dvd and Blueray, so if it's on your list to buy, now's the perfect time.

On the negative side, just learned that they remade Stephen King's Children of the Corn and I gotta say I'm not too happy about it. I will be tuning in to Syfy on Sept 26 just so I'm not a total hypocrite. After all, if it totally sucks then I have all that much more reason to say it shouldn't have been done in the first place, right? I really like the original and the only issue I have with it are the dated effects at the very end, otherwise I think it's a great movie based on what is one of my favorite short stories.

I'm ranting. Anywho. I've been a bit neglectful of my blog lately. Think of it as a bit of a vacation.

Coming up, Doug Clegg's Isis (I'll wait just a bit because it's due out later this month), posts on Hank Phillippi Ryan's Charlotte McNally series, R.J. Ellory's A Quiet Belief in Angels, Hank Schwaeble's Damnable, and plenty of others (see, I have been reading!).

Alright, I'm going pull something great out of the stack for this gloomy afternoon. Perfect horror reading weather!